Dark Desires
by Death Can't Be Trusted
Summary: Ichigo and his hollow share a dream. The next day he wakes up to find Shirosaki in his bed! At first they want nothing to do with each other, but as Soul Society turns against them they have to work together to stay alive. Rating may go up. UP FOR ADOPTION. PM me if you are interested in accepting my terms.
1. The Dream Catcher's Deal

Death: Normally I write Death Note fanfics, but this idea just **would not leave me alone**. So. I decided to write it out and hopefully get back to my two other stories. I think I'm close to halfway through The Last Shisou Vampire. So maybe when that's done and gone this will continue. Or if I'm up to it, I'll work on three stories at once. But I can't promise anything.

Disclaimer: Do you really believe I'm secretly Kubo-sama? Or Obha-sama? Or Obata-sama? Yea, I thought not.

Enjoy!

**C****hapter 1** The Dream Catcher's Deal

* * *

_Ichigo's/Shirosaki's Dream_

Ichigo lazily opened his eyes, revealing his surroundings. The substitute shinigami was somehow standing in the middle of a forest. As he examined the forest, Ichigo couldn't but feel that he was standing in one of those fairy tale forests.

Even though it was night, the leaves of the trees glowed brightly with life, reflecting the soft rays of the full moon shining proudly above. The bark seemed to be old, and on some vines curled around the trunks of the trees. There were neither leaves nor grass on the ground, only moss gathering up the moisture in the air.

"This is my dream, Ichigo. Get out." A low hiss said teen knew of so well.

Ichigo whirled around to see his inner hollow leaning against a tree, arms crossed and sneering at him. One black and yellow eye was open, glaring at his king.

"Shiro? What are you doing here?" Ichigo scowled, unhappy about the fact something like the hollow standing in a pure forest such as this.

"I just told ya. This is my dream, therefore ya shouldn't interfere. You've done enough of puttin' me down." Shirosaki snorted.

Ichigo frowned, scanning the forest one more time.

"This is your dream?"

Really, the teen thought that this was an odd dream for the hollow. Shirosaki was always so hateful, Ichigo was sure that the hollow's dream would be more chaotic than peaceful.

"Do I have ta repeat everythin' to ya? Or are ya really stupid?" the hollow scowled, now glaring at the shinigami with both piercing yellow eyes.

"I'm not stupid!" Ichigo retorted. "Besides…I would have thought that your dreams would have been destruction or killing things."

"What's wrong with a fairy tale forest? It's borin' in our inner world. It's just tall buildings standin' horizontal an' not vertical. Th' only person ta talk to is th' old man, an' he just ignores me. Th' only change would be when it rains." Shirosaki snorted.

"It rains in there?" Ichigo asked, surprised.

"An' it's not even cheerful. When th' rain comes it always made me depressed." The hollow spoke as if it was an everyday thing.

"Oh…" the teen really didn't know how to respond to that.

Ichigo then realized something. This was the first time Shirosaki wasn't trying to attack him, or even showing too many signs of hatred against him. Did dreams like this really have an effect on him?

"Hey…why are you so calm right now? You're not attacking me or throwing threats of bringing me down." Ichigo tilted his head.

"Wha'? Can't a hollow like me jus' relax an' enjoy some peace unlike your everyday life of bein' a danger magnet?" Shirosaki hissed.

"I guess you made your point." The teen frowned, deciding not to prod the hollow any further if he didn't want his head sliced off.

Shirosaki didn't respond, only turning his gaze to something else. Taking advantage of the silence between them, Ichigo took a better look around. He had turned around to see some sort of design on the ground. It looked like some sort of star, with a strange eye in the middle. The star itself was surrounded by two circles, some form of Latin symbols between the lines.

"What is this?" Ichigo knelt down to examine it closer.

"Dunno." The hollow shrugged, removing himself from the tree to stand by the substitute shinigami.

"Looks like some sort of alchemy or dark magic symbol." Ichigo tilted his head at it.

"What'eva it is, ya should leave it alone." Shirosaki scowled. "It could'a activate once ya touch it or somet'ing."

"When did you become so educated?" the teen raised an eyebrow.

Growling, the hollow pounced at Ichigo, no longer able to control his anger. With a yelp of surprise, Ichigo began to struggle. The two wrestled in the moss, rolling and punching.

In the end Shirosaki rolled them over, straddling Ichigo's waist and pinning the teen's wrists above his orange head. The young teen struggled a bit more until he felt a warm breath against his face. Ichigo stilled, too shocked to move as he realized that the hollow was leaning over him with half closed eyes.

"Sh—Shirosaki?" Ichigo gasped when the hollow's hips pressed against his.

Pale lips leaned closer to tanned ones, their breaths mixing. Ichigo felt his face heat up, mentally cursing at teenage hormones.

"Ya know King…" Shirosaki trailed off when his gaze shifted to something glowing behind the shinigami's head.

"What?" Ichigo dared to ask.

"That thing is glowin'."

Worried, the teen turned his head to see that the strange symbol was indeed glowing while a part of it was under his head.

Before either could react, there was a blinding flash. They closed their eyes as they felt the forest floor leave them. It felt like they were gently being lifted and teleported into a different setting.

They didn't know how long it lasted, but once the flash ended they fell onto a hard surface. Their groins rubbed each other roughly, causing Ichigo to scream and arch his back. Shirosaki surprised them both by purring into a tan ear.

"My, my, you two are a catch indeed." A female voice giggled.

In an instant the two raised their heads, one staring the other glaring at the woman sitting by the table, leaning over it to stare right back at them.

She was pale, almost as pale as Shirosaki. Her hair was darker than the shadows. It was partially loose, but two small portions that supposed to frame her face were pulled back into a short braid. On her forehead was a black mark of a third eye.

If her hair and skin color were shocking, her eyes and outfit nearly made _Shirosaki_ shiver.

The woman had piercing red eyes, matching her miko like kimono. The top half was white, as tradition, and a red lower half. But at the end of her sleeves were red dragons, curling and twisting around the sleeve. Around the chest area the hakui was parted to show off a bit of her huge bust.

Her red hakama was mostly normal, only around her feet were white dragons with similar designs as the red ones on her sleeves. She smiled deviously as both shinigami and hollow twitched for to grab their zanpakutou.

"Calm down boys, I don't hurt my clients." She rolled her eyes, leaning back into her chair.

Hesitating a moment, Shirosaki rolled off of Ichigo and stood up. The teen pushed himself off the floor to stand next to his hollow. The woman smiled up at them.

"What do you mean clients?" Ichigo asked.

"Exactly what it means." She paused for a moment when they frowned. "You didn't know? When two people need or want something, they come to me in their dreams."

"Why dreams an' not in real life or somet'ing?" Shirosaki crossed his arms.

"My magic specializes in dreams. It is here that I am able to figure out what my client needs from me."

"And who are you?" the teen frowned.

"My name is of no importance. I am often referred to as the Dream Catcher, or a Dream Witch. Either works for me." she stood up to make her way to the cabinets nearby.

Ichigo took the chance to take in his new surroundings. Everything was made of old wood. There were a few cobwebs in the corners, and the old carpets on the floor were faded. The teen wrinkled his nose at the odd smell in the room. He turned to the window at the right were incense was burning.

Even if the room seemed old, it took Ichigo a moment to realize that the theme was dragons. On the carpet were dragons, the stained tablecloth had a dragon in the center, curling and twisting perfectly over the round table. Even the incense burner was in the shape of a dragon!

But Ichigo thought it was kind of cool that as the incense burned, the smoke came out of its nose and mouth.

The Dream Catcher came back with some tea with three empty cups. She sat down in her chair, motioning them to sit down across from her. Hesitantly, Shirosaki sat down first followed by Ichigo.

"By the confused expressions you two don't know why you're here." Dream Catcher smiled.

"He was th' one invadin' my dream." Shirosaki accused.

"I can't control what I can and cannot dream!" Ichigo retorted.

The hollow rolled his eyes. "Of course ya can't, _King_."

"Are you mocking me?" the teen twitched, about ready to punch the pale hollow.

"Boys! Now would you please calm down?" she snapped her fingers near their ears.

"Hey!" both scowled.

Dream Catcher laughed at their reaction. "You two are going to be so much fun!"

"What are we here for?" Ichigo demanded.

"Sheesh, calm down." She whispered, pouring the tea into the three cups.

"What was tha'?" Shirosaki hissed.

"Nothing. Now, let me see…the two of you two shares the same body?"

"Unfortunately." The hollow snickered.

"You hate being cooped up in the inner world." The Dream Catcher turned her gaze at Shirosaki. "You feel lonely, frustrated, and sad for having no one to talk to."

Surprised, the hollow hissed in response.

"Stop fussing, I don't invade people's minds for information. This," she raised a hand to her third eye. "Is how I see through the soul."

"Now, who wants tea? This is Jasmine Dragon tea, my personal favorite."

Ichigo tentatively reached for a small tea cup, noting that it too had a fancy dragon around it and took a small sip. It tasted a bit spicy, but the sweet aftertaste made up for it.

Seeing that Ichigo wasn't dying, Shirosaki reached for a cup of his own.

"You're frustrated that Shirosaki takes any advantages to fight you for control. You hate him, yet at the same time you don't. You know he's a part of you, so you can't really blame him for being stubborn." She continued.

Surprised, Ichigo nearly choked on his tea. He quickly swallowed and coughed, setting the tea cup on the table.

"I'm sorry, you surprised me is all. And you're right." Ichigo said when he stopped coughing.

"It's not the first time. At least you didn't spit it out." The Dream Witch shrugged.

"So what is it tha' we want?" Shirosaki spoke up, not bothering to cover up his boredom and irritation.

"I just told you. You want freedom, and Ichigo wants you to stop fighting for control. So, my solution." She stood up.

"What are you going to do?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"You shall see in the morning." The witch smiled knowingly before she brought her hands together to chant something in a different language.

The next thing Ichigo knew was complete darkness.

_End of Dream_

_

* * *

_

Ichigo stirred in his sleep, the rays of the sun peeking through the curtains. He knew that in a few weeks school will start again. Ichigo would enjoy the last days of summer and sleeping in late. Or as late as his old man allowed before barging in screaming the daylights out of him.

There was some sense of warmth to the side. Not opening his eyes, Ichigo turned and snuggled closer to the source of warmth. The source of warmth stirred a bit, and something what felt like a chin nuzzled into his hair.

Frowning, the teen opened his eyes into black pajamas. Ichigo blinked his eyes a few times to confirm that there was another person in his bed. It took the berry head to figure out that he couldn't squirm away from the firm chest because arms were tightly wrapped around him.

"What the hell!" Ichigo screamed, kicking the sleeping form off the bed.

The teen instantly felt pain in his gut. He curled up and held a hand over the pained area and peered over the side of the bed. The other had screamed from being kicked, and now lay on the floor curled up groaning. Ichigo recognized the form as his inner hollow.

"Shirosaki?"

"Who else, _King_?" the hollow hissed, menacingly glaring up at Ichigo.

Shirosaki wasn't dressed his normal reversed shinigami outfit. Instead he wore the same pajamas as Ichigo, only they were black while the substitute shinigami's were white.

"How—"

"I'M COMING TO RESCUE YOU ICHIGO!" Isshin yelled as he burst through the door—more like kicking—and ran to the center of the room hands up.

"SHUT UP YOU OLD GEEZER!" Ichigo sat up, throwing his alarm clock at his dad.

The alarm clock hit the old man square in the face and he fell back on the floor.

"Why, Ichigo, why did you hurt your daddy?" Isshin whimpered, fake crying.

Shirosaki knelt down next to the older man, peering at him curiously. Ichigo stood up, scratching the back of his head at the situation.

Inner hollow somehow escaped inner world, now walking around in his own body. His dad came running in, and is now lying on the floor like a whimpering puppy. With a sigh, Ichigo thought of stuffing Shirosaki into his closet. It worked for Rukia.

But today was not Ichigo's day. Isshin opened his eyes, blinking as he gazed at a grinning pale twin version of his son.

"Who are you?" the elder man asked with his voice in a serious tone for once.

"You're not ta only one keepin' secrets, old man." The hollow snickered.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Isshin sat up as he adjusted his glasses to take a better look at the Ichigo look—a—like. The pale version was the same in every aspect of Ichigo, with only a few differences.

The copy cat had piercing yellow eyes that seemed to shine in the light. Instead of orange mop of hair was pure white, almost blending in with his skin. It was at this time that Ichigo realized that his hollow seemed a little more human than his normal appearance.

"Stand up." Isshin crossed his arms.

Scowling, Shirosaki complied. The elder Kurosaki raised both his eyebrows when he saw the familiar scowl Ichigo always had when irritated on the pale twin.

"Dad—"

"Who are you?" Isshin demanded, ignoring his son.

"Shirosaki."

"Shirosaki…?"

The pale Ichigo shrugged. "That's wha' he calls me."

Isshin turned to his son.

"I can explain…" Ichigo bit his lip.

"I knew you were a vizard, but how did this happen?" Isshin pointed to Shirosaki.

"You know, Dad, it's a funny story actually." Ichigo paused for a moment.

"Well?" the elder Kurosaki raised an eyebrow.

"…I have no idea!" Ichigo threw his arms up, sitting back down on the bed.

"Don't tell me ya forgo' about our dream last night? We met a Dream Catcher." Shirosaki crossed his arms.

Isshin froze.

"Dream Catcher?"

"Oh yea! I remember now, she was…weird."

"I guess this is wha' she meant by grantin' our wishes. I have my freedom and ya no longer have to deal with me." Shirosaki grinned.

"Not true." Isshin shook his head before smacking Ichigo's head.

"Ow!"

Both teens rubbed their heads.

"See? There are drawbacks when you make a deal with a Dream Catcher."

"But we didn't agree to anything! She just told us what we wanted and then she told us to wait until morning to see what her solution would be." Ichigo frowned.

"You still made a deal with her the moment you touched her symbol. Now, get dressed boys. You're going to Urahara's shop."

* * *

Death: Ok, this is my first try at Bleach. But really, I think some parts are a little...uncharacteristic for Ichigo. But I did what I could. I've been trying to read through the series and watching the eps but my computer messed up on what chapter I'm on in the manga, so I'm literally stuck not knowing where I was at and I'm anxiously waiting for the new eps.

Why do they take so damn long to air the new eps? It's getting on my nerves!

1) The star, eye, circle, thing, I got off from Sleepy Hollow with Johnny Depp, and I believe it's either directed or produced by Tim Burton. The symbol is supposed to mean to protect a loved one, but in here I decided to change that. The Dream Catcher uses this symbol to lure in customers/patients.

2) Hakui: It's the white, top half of a miko's (priestess) traditional Japanese outift. You don't know what it offically looks like, look up Kikyo from Inuyasha.

3) Hakama: They're like pants but are more kimono-like, if you get what I mean. Think of the pants Ichi-nii wears when he's a shinigami.

4) Dream Catcher/Witch: Think of her as a female, more conservative version of Urahara. She's odd, mysterious, and helps others even if they don't ask or even agree to making a deal with her. The only difference is that her intentions are yet to be determined, and the same goes for her name.

Yes, this may be random, but I couldn't stop thinking about the idea of Shirosaki having a body of his own and the only drawback was that they share the same pain, wounds, etc.

Without another note, please review and tell me what you think. This is totally different from Death Note...


	2. Human Or Hollow?

Death: Well...I wasn't planning of updating this early, for I'm almost done with the next chap of my other story. But since this one is basically done with chapter 2 I thought, why not?

Disclaimer: I am not Tite Kubo, I think that would have been obvious.

**Chapter 2** Human Or Hollow?

* * *

"How about this?" Ichigo held up a pale blue shirt to his sulking hollow on the bed.

"Are my eyes still yello'?" Shirosaki answered back.

"Yeah, your eyes are more human but they're still yellow."

"Then tha' shirt should go to hell." The hollow hissed.

"Why do you have to be so damn picky? I may not have many clothes compared to a girl, but these are good shirts!" Ichigo scowled angrily, shoving the shirt back into the closet.

"They bore me. Ya got anyt'ing dark?" Shirosaki suggested as he lazily kicked into the air.

The two males had been trying—and failing—to find suitable clothes for the hollow turned human. The pants were easy, for Shirosaki already had a liking to the dark gray skinny jeans that had a few holes but he didn't mind. In fact the jeans seemed to look better on the pale hollow than they did on Ichigo.

And now the berry head was rampaging through his closet for simple a shirt. Shirosaki can't walk around shirtless in the city after all. The girls would be all over them.

The hollow turned his head to gaze at the substitute shinigami. He had to say Ichigo knew how to look good.

The teen wore one of his favorite blue jeans that had faded a little from the multiple trips to the washer. Even if the color was beginning to fade, it didn't stretch out or shrink. The jeans still showed off Ichigo's long legs and slender—

"Stop staring at my ass you pervert!" Ichigo yelled, not even bothering to turn around as he continued his search for a dark shirt.

Shirosaki grinned. "What's a matter, King? Ya know ya like it…"

"Shut the hell up hollow." The teen grumbled.

Shirosaki scowled. "That hurts ya know."

"We've been stuck in this room for half an hour! I'm dressed and ready to go but you're too damn picky to wear a damn shirt! We're not going anywhere special we're just going to visit Hat 'n Clogs." Ichigo retorted, angrily sliding the hangers to the other side of the closet.

"Ok then jus' get me tha' gray striped shirt an' the black vest." The hollow rolled his eyes.

Ichigo grabbed them and threw them at Shiro's face before stomping his way out of the room. The teen grumbled to himself as he made his way downstairs to the kitchen to find his old man hanging up on the phone.

"Looks like you two will have to walk alone to Urahara's shop. A client needs my assistance." Isshin sighed, not comfortable to leave Ichigo alone with his hollow walking around.

"Where are Karin and Yuzu?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow as he opened the fridge, grabbing some bread to make some toast.

"They're out with their friends today. They won't be back until tomorrow."

"Good, we may have to come up with some story for Shiro. If we share the same pain then he has to stay here so long as he has a body." Ichigo frowned at the thought. Shirosaki wasn't the best to hang around with. The hollow may scare his little sisters.

"Let's think about that later. For now we need to get ready. I'll be back sometime after lunch." Isshin said as he headed for his medical supplies in the other room.

"Don't go molesting people old goat." Ichigo teased as he set the two pieces of bread into the toaster.

The berry head heard a loud cry that strangely sounded like, 'How could my own son accuse me of such horrible acts?' Ichigo grinned and shook his head.

"Oi, 'm done."

Ichigo turned, his eyes widening at the hollow. Shirosaki decided to go for the gangster look of all things. The sleeves of the striped shirt was rolled up to just above his elbow, the shirt was half tucked under the rim of the jeans.

The teen noticed that his hollow stole one of his belts. But it didn't really matter. The belt was old and crinkled deep into the leather from being worn so many times. Around Shiro's wrists were two of Ichigo's favorite wristbands. Both were military green, and they stood out amongst the dark and pale clothes.

"Ya like wha' ya see, King?" Shirosaki grinned.

Ichigo snorted, the soft ding from the toaster sounded and breakfast was ready. The teen picked up the butter knife and butter, spreading it across the two pieces of bread. When he was done he took a bite of one and turned to offer Shiro the other.

"Here's your toast." Ichigo said with a mouthful of toast.

"Hn." Shirosaki grunted, taking the toast and tentatively taking a bite.

For being cooped up in Ichigo's inner world his whole life, human food wasn't that bad. Shirosaki decided that after they visited the Urahara Shop then they will get pizza on the way home.

"Can we have pizza on th' way home?" the hollow asked after he swallowed the toast, his expression seemed hopeful.

Ichigo blinked a couple times to confirm that indeed, Shirosaki was hopeful. Scratching his head nervously, the teen reached for his wallet.

"Let's see if I have the money for pizza."

"You boys are going to eat pizza for lunch?" Isshin raised an eyebrow as he set his medical case on the counter.

"Shirosaki wants pizza, he's never eaten food." Ichigo informed, counting his money.

"T'at's not true, I've eat'n toast." The hollow frowned.

"That was only a small mouthful compared to the many kinds of foods we humans make." The elder Kurosaki smiled.

"I know. I've known a lot o' things from Ichigo's memories." Shirosaki shrugged. "I jus' wanna taste pizza."

"Act nicely at Urahara's and I'll order you pizza." Ichigo grinned. "I only have enough for a medium sized pizza."

"Better than a large, we're not sure if he'll like it." Isshin added. "Also, if this can't be reversed, I will set a few ground rules for you. And I'm sure that with the help of Urahara we can keep you out of Soul Society's grasp."

The air turned grim from the elder Kurosaki's words that sunk in. Shirosaki leaned against the counter, crossing his arms.

"There's jus' one probl'm with tha'. I may be a hollow, but tha' doesn' mean I can't hunt 'em down. Ichigo can tell ya tha' I enjoy fightin'." The hollow hissed.

"If there's a way for you to hunt them down with Ichigo without being caught by other shinigami working for the Soul Society, I say go for it. But you'll have to ask Urahara how to do it." Isshin shrugged.

"C'mon, let's go." Ichigo tapped his hollow's shoulder lightly and headed for the door.

"Make sure to hide your reiatsu!" the older man reminded as they left the house.

* * *

The walk to Urahara's shop was surprisingly calm. Shirosaki didn't pull any tricks, or made any threats to kids who got too close for comfort. It may have been a few hours since the hollow woke up in his own body, but Ichigo could feel the other's mood. And Ichigo was sure that Shirosaki could feel the same from the substitute shinigami.

The hollow held many emotions, Ichigo discovered. Many of them were irritation caused by a lot of things. But overall Shirosaki held in his anger, and remained remotely calm. Or as calm as Ichigo had ever seen him.

"How come you're so calm right now?" Ichigo decided to ask as the crossed a street.

Shirosaki frowned a bit.

"I'm calm cause 'm feelin' free. I don' care what happens righ' now. It jus' feels nice bein' able to walk aroun' an' not bein' cooped up in the horizontal inner world."

The teen felt a pang of guilt from the hollow's reasoning. Shirosaki had never gotten a chance to explore the world, or even taste food for that matter. Ichigo never gave it a thought, for the hollow had always been forcefully trying to take over, threatening to make him suffer when he became King. But there were plenty of times Ichigo would have put some thought as looking at Shirosaki's situation.

"Stop feelin' sorry fer me, King. Th' moment ya start feelin' sorry fer people it rains in th' inner world. I imagine old man Zangetsu will be unhappy." The hollow spoke softly, careful no one was eavesdropping.

"Does it really rain in there? The sky always seemed to be so…clear when I came around." Ichigo tilted his head.

"Yea, wheneva ya feelin' sad, troubled, or even confused. But it really rains on tha' day." Shirosaki scowled, knowing that _that_ day was a touchy subject for his King.

Ichigo didn't reply. He knew what day his hollow was talking about. He just wasn't sure how to respond. This was really the first time they ever talked in a peaceful manner, something he never thought was possible.

Just when they were a few blocks away from Urahara's shop, Shirosaki wrinkled his nose at a certain scent entered his hypersensitive senses. The hollow hissed before stopping, eyes scanning the area menacingly.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked, stopping as well. He couldn't detect anything dangerous coming their way.

"Tha' shrimp of a shinigami tha' draws horribly is nearby." Shirosaki growled.

"You mean Rukia?" Ichigo frowned. It wasn't that he knew Rukia would be trustworthy enough to keep a secret, it was her reaction to seeing his hollow that worried him.

"Ichigo!" the familiar female voice called out to their left.

Said berry head gulped when he saw that Rukia wasn't alone. Her childhood friend Renji, and his close friend Chad was with her. Tagging along behind them was Inoue and Uryu.

Just what they needed.

"Uh, Rukia I don't think you guys should—"

"Who is that?" Renji interrupted, pointing at Shirosaki.

Everyone stopped then, staring at the strange pale duplicate of their friend. Ichigo could feel the tension from his hollow rise, the pale body tensed in ready to fight or flee. But if Shirosaki was angered enough, Ichigo had no doubt within his mind that the hollow would attack.

"Um…" Ichigo scratched the back of his head nervously, ramming his head for any sort of story to come up with.

"I'm Ichi—nii's long lost twin." Shirosaki managed to pull off a grin, but close up the corners of his mouth were twitching.

Surprised, the teen found himself nodding.

"Yea, the old goat never told me that I had a twin. Shiro was deathly sick when he was born and I guess the doctors separated us, telling my parents that he was dead." Ichigo added.

"Th' name's Shiro Tsukino." The hollow said. Ichigo couldn't help but notice that Shirosaki stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Awww! Kurosaki—kun had a twin!" Inoue clapped her hands in happiness.

Shirosaki couldn't help but flinch at her high pitched voice. Rukia seemed a little confused at first, as did the rest of Ichigo's friends. Uryu adjusted his glasses, staring intently at the paler version of Ichigo.

"There's something off with his reiatsu." The Quincy pointed out, his senses with locating reiatsu immensely stronger than the others.

Renji took the first few steps forward, studying Shirosaki with an intense glare. The redhead was starting to notice the strange spiritual pressure from Ichigo's twin. It seemed that Shiro was trying to hide it. But as the lieutenant of the Sixth Division came closer, he recognized the reiatsu.

"He's a hollow!" Renji shouted, immediately transforming into his shinigami form, drawing his zanpakutou.

The rest of the group scattered, surrounding their friend and this strange hollow. Rukia had also transformed her gigai body into her real form, confused and shocked at the realization hit her.

Palming his forehead, Ichigo mentally wondered just how to get out of this one without anyone getting seriously injured. Without warning something collided into the back of his head, and Ichigo fell forward as his shinigami form separated itself from his body.

"Hey!" both substitute and hollow accused at the same time, gripping the back of their heads.

Ichigo was kneeling on the ground, rubbing his sore head while Shirosaki stood where he was, also nursing his head. The berry head glanced a little to his left, recognizing Rukia's sheath to her zanpakutou, _Sode no Shirayuki_.

"You didn't have to throw it you know!" Ichigo looked over his shoulder at Rukia.

"I thought it would be fair since there's a hollow right next to you." She replied, ignoring his glare.

"How is it that Kurosaki—kun and his twin share the same pain?" Inoue tilted her head.

"They're not twins!" Renji corrected rudely.

"Guys, look." Chad pointed calmly at the two in the center of their circle.

Everyone did as they were told. They were surprised that not only did Ichigo switch into shinigami form, but the hollow did as well. The only differences were that his uniform was reversed, white on the outer layer and the inner layer black.

And the hollow didn't have a body lying on the ground.

Shirosaki raised a hand to the hilt of his sword, glaring daggers at Renji. The hollow roared as he held his zanpakutou, unwrapping itself from a black cloth just like Ichigo's does. The black cloth revealed an exact replica of Zangetsu, only the colors were reversed.

The top half was a shining silver, the blade half was black. Shirosaki cackled as he easily swung Zangetsu in circles by the cloth. Before any of them could even react, the hollow threw his huge sword at the lieutenant.

"Roar, Zabimaru!" Renji counterattacked, the sword grew in length to meet Zangetsu half way.

"Hey!" Ichigo shouted at both of them. "Just let me explain—"

"Shut up Ichigo!" the redhead yelled, maneuvering Zabimaru around the reversed Zangetsu to the hollow.

Shirosaki grinned before he used his speed advantage and flash stepped out of the way. His shunpo technique was a little more advanced than Ichigo's. As the hollow dodged, he pulled on the cloth to grab onto the handle of his sword. Shirosaki continued to flash step around Zabimaru, planning a counterattack of his own.

Renji blinked when his weapon met ground. Wasn't the hollow there?

"Renji, look out!" Rukia warned, her violet eyes widening at the hollow's speed.

The lieutenant looked up in time to see Shirosaki using one of Zangetsu's attacks.

"_Getsuga Tensho_!"

Renji was barely able to leap out of the way as the hollow's attack was interrupted with Ichigo's own attack. Shirosaki hissed at his other half.

"Stop gettin' in my way!"

"Stop attacking for a moment and allow me to explain everything to them you idiot!" Ichigo yelled back.

"Ya may be King, but tha' doesn' mean ya have ta order me around!" Shirosaki growled, swinging his version of Zangetsu in circles above his head.

Ichigo scowled. This was not his day today.

"Wait, is he…is he your hollow?" Inoue timidly asked, recognizing the yellow and black eyes that were glaring at them with menace.

Groaning inwardly, Ichigo nodded.

"Yea, he's my inner hollow. We were _trying _to get to Urahara's shop for an explanation on why he has his own body until _some_ people over reacted." The teen glared at his friends.

Seeing that everyone wasn't going to attack, Shirosaki floated to the ground, holding his sword. The hollow could feel the anger expanding in waves from Ichigo.

"That's your hollow?" Rukia gulped.

"I got a name ya know." Shirosaki hissed, sword over his shoulder, sneering at them.

"I wonder what would happen if we take him down?" Uryu lowered Ginrei Kojaku, but kept a good grip on it.

"Go ahead. Yer gonna be killin' Ichigo at th' same time." The hollow snorted.

"What are you talking about? Killing you would mean Ichigo would be free of the likes you!" Renji huffed.

Both the hollow and Ichigo visibly flinched from that. Shirosaki started growling from his throat, glaring daggers at the redhead while the substitute averted his eyes to the ground.

"Listen 'ere ya stupid shinigami! I've been around fer years, there's no way of gettin' rid of me unless ya wanna kill Ichigo." Shirosaki pointed his sword at Renji.

"How long are we talking about? The longer a hollow has been lying dormant in a soul, the deeper the bond between vizard and hollow." A different voice spoke up.

Everyone raised heads to Kisuke Urahara, who had apparently witnessed the whole escalade. His eyes were hidden from his hat, but it didn't hide his smirk as he dared to walk closer to the hollow. Shirosaki growled in warning, but still the shop keeper paid no mind to the growling.

"Well? Are you going to answer my question or not?" Urahara spoke in a teasing tone.

"All I rem'mber is the feelin' of rain, an' th' smell of death." Shirosaki hissed.

Ichigo raised his gaze at his hollow. He couldn't have been born on that day, right?

"Hmm…and I assume this wouldn't be the time where Byakuya Taichou nearly killed Ichigo when they first met, right?" the shop keeper felt over his chin in thought.

"No. I would'a rem'mbered an umbrella over our head." The hollow shrugged.

"Then I assume this would be a painful memory?" Urahara glanced at Ichigo, who bit his lip.

"Ya assume righ'." Shirosaki answered for them.

"Let's head to the shop. I would like to test your abilities for myself. Then we can figure out how you got a body of your own." The shop keeper grinned as he twirled around and lead the way.

Reluctantly, Shirosaki held Zangetsu over his back, the cloth wrapping itself around the blade. Ichigo did the same before returning to his body. The moment he opened his eyes the sore in the back of his head made him groan.

The hollow scowled as the pain came back, rubbing his head in hopes to soothe it just a little. Everyone but the shop keeper blinked in surprise when his shihakusho dissipated and revealed the same clothes he wore earlier. His eyes returned to the normal human—like eyes, the golden color still remained.

"C'mon Shiro." Ichigo spoke softly, still wondering about his hollow's description of the day he was born.

Despite his foul mood, the hollow jogged lightly to catch up with his other half. They both knew that Shirosaki didn't like the others, and the hollow felt safer around someone he knew of better. And with Ichigo by his side, Shirosaki wouldn't be tempted to slice everyone to pieces.

'_King, do ya think they'll still be yer friends with me around?'_ the hollow frowned.

'_Dunno. They may not like you first time around.' _Ichigo shrugged.

'_I don't think they like me at all.' _Shirosaki scowled.

"So what's it like being a hollow?" Renji asked, not caring for the rudeness of the subject.

Rukia smacked the redhead's arm.

"Ow! What's the big idea, Rukia!"

"That's a rude question to ask, he's a part of Ichigo!" the shorter shinigami retorted.

The hollow snickered. "She may be annoyin', bu' at least she's got some sense."

Before anyone could defend Rukia, Ichigo lightly smacked his pale counterpart. "Don't talk like that unless you want to get sliced to pieces."

"Wouldn' be th' first time." Shirosaki grinned, referring to the times they had fought in their inner world over Zangetsu or taking full control of Ichigo's body.

Ichigo just rolled his eyes.

"Ichigo." Chad spoke softly, now walking just behind the berry head.

"Hm?" Ichigo glanced over his shoulder, his hollow doing the same.

"Wouldn't Shiro be considered the vizard now? He has the form of a human, and he can also become a shinigami like you." The tall teen calmly pointed out, his soft gaze met Ichigo and Shiro.

Shirosaki frowned. "But 'm hollow in origin, an' wouldn't I have an inner hollow ta be a vizard?"

"But you're still in the form a human." Chad repeated.

"He's got a point." Ichigo said, now that he thought about it.

"What's lookin' like a human got ta do with it?" Shirosaki wondered aloud.

"Don't most hollows take to human appearances once they become an Arrancar?" Uryu said, striding himself alongside Chad. "Look at the Espada, most took to the familiar structure of a human and not creatures of destruction like normal hollows."

"If I was an Arrancar, wouldn't Ichigo be dead?" the hollow paused. "An' what about my sword? It's still th' same ol' Zangetsu."

"Define still the same." Urahara said as they stopped at the front of his shop.

The shop keeper whirled himself around suddenly, staring intently at the pale duplicate.

"After all during that little escapade both of you had the same sword, but what's the difference between them? Other than their appearance, I mean."

Shirosaki scratched the back of his head.

"Ya should know tha' my sword is jus' a copy cat. It has no soul, the real Zangetsu is wha' Ichigo wields." The hollow shrugged.

"A copy cat you say? Why would you have a copy cat, now that you have your own body? Wouldn't you be wielding a sword of your own?" Urahara shifted his hat to reveal more of his face a bit.

"Ya should know already, 'm a hollow, we don' need th' name of our zanpakutou." Shirosaki snorted.

"What shape was Shiro in when you first met him face to face?" the shop keeper tilted his head at Ichigo.

"Exactly like me in my shinigami form. Only he was reversed, with a bit of hollow in him." Ichigo shrugged. "Why?"

"Intriguing." Urahara said with a sing a song voice, grinning.

"What's so interesting of how Shiro looked like when they first met?" Rukia asked, curious to the shop keeper's reaction.

"It's rare to find a vizard's hollow in the shape of a human, even more so if that hollow was almost the exact image as the vizard's shinigami form." Urahara giggled, still grinning.

"So Shiro is a special kind of hollow?" Inoue tilted her head.

"He's in a class all of his own. There has only been one other recorded case with a vizard and their hollow like Ichigo and Shiro." Urahara informed, his grin shrunk into a smile.

"But from what I've heard, the vizard had to be eliminated. The hollow was growing out of control. It was able to manifest itself from the vizard's body and create a body of its own. And on top of that, the vizard was strong enough to bring down all of the taichou's in Seireitei."

"Le' me guess, Soul Society got scared shitless an' decided to execute 'em." Shirosaki hissed.

"Precisely. This happened before I was even born. It was a story for my generation of children in order for us to look down upon vizards." Urahara sighed. "It never worked for me. The story only increased my fascination about the power of vizards."

"If there was more like us, they won' talk. Not after tha' story." Shirosaki rolled his eyes.

"There aren't that many vizards to begin with. Soul Society still looks down upon them." Renji pointed out.

"Now on better matters, let us go inside everyone. Anyone want some tea? I'm thinking we should get to know Shiro better before we see what he can do. Can't fight with an empty stomach!" Urahara laughed a little too cheerfully.

Shirosaki half stared at Ichigo, wondering if this was a good idea or not. Sensing his hollow's discomfort, Ichigo assured him with a smile and patting his shoulder.

"Don't act on your anger and I think everyone will treat you like an old friend." Ichigo paused at his words. "Well, maybe not old friend, but somewhere along those lines."

'_But, Chad did bring up a good point about you. If he's this calm after being within feet of you means he senses nothing dangerous from you.' _Ichigo added through their link.

'_I still think they won' like me fer a long while.' _Shirosaki shrugged.

'_At least it's progress.'_ The teen added.

The hollow couldn't help but smile a little.

* * *

Death: Huh...I expected the chapters to be a little short and growing at each chap like my Death Note ones, but I didn't know where to end this one. So I decided to wrap things up with Shirosaki smiling xD Though the thought of him just smiling, kinda makes an odd picture in my head. The guy was always grinning evilly or smirking dangerously.

1) Tsukino: It's a real Japanese last name, it literally means "Moon Field". There wasn't much last names that I could find, and this one seemed to suit Shiro more than the others I've found.

Ok! Fight scene, may not be the best, but I didn't want any blood stains yet. Unless this is a story about vampires (which is not), I like to start the fight scenes kind of childs play and then steadily growing into something more serious as the story goes on. It's like increasing as the plot rises, and so with each fight scene it gets more intense. So please don't worry about this crappy one.

And for a last note, I would like to ask something. We may not know much of the other vizards Ichigo trained himself with so he could control his hollow a little more, or even what their hollows even look like. But don't you think its a little odd how Shirosaki looks human in the manga despite being a hollow? Well, it may have something to do with that Ichigo is still in control, but that doesn't mean Shirosaki couldn't have been given a few more attributes of a hollow like a tail, armor skin, animal ears, birdy legs, or even claws as hands. It just seems like Kubo-sama is trying to make Shirosaki seem special amongst the other hollows.

So that's what I'm kinda doing in this story. I'm just broadening the thought and making the story a little more interesting. And it may explain why Shiro is a lil bit calmer now that he has a body.

Enough of my rambling, it's time to review! I appreciated the reviews for the first chapter, and I would like to see what any of you think of this chapter. x3


	3. The Price if Freedom

Death: I'm sorry for the wait, I'm trying to keep this going and its hard when Death Note and a crossover that's not doing so good along with school keeps getting in my way. But I made this chap 9 pages long so you guys get a nice treat!

Disclaimer: I think its obvious I'm not Kubo-sama if I'm not Ohba-sama, Obata-sama, or Takahashi-sama.

**Chapter 3** The Price of Freedom

* * *

Renji stared intently at the hollow. His eyes narrowing suspiciously with a deep frown crossed his face. The redhead had not left his gaze from the pale Ichigo duplicate since they entered the shop. He watched as Shiro shifted uncomfortably, noting the harsh glare sent his way.

No one really spoke as they sat. Everyone was either drinking tea silently or watching the hollow. Shirosaki had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from growling. Ichigo sent a warning glare, obvious that he felt the pain.

As they sipped their tea, Shiro felt himself shifting a little. Sometimes he leaned a little closer to Ichigo, other times a little more towards Chad. For the time being they were the only people who were most likely to defend the hollow if anything happened.

"Ah, tea can work wonders." Urahara sighed dreamily.

Shirosaki snorted. "Who knows, you migh' have snuck drugs in tha' cup."

"Shiro!" Ichigo scowled, lightly smacking his other half.

"What? Don' tell me ya don' suspect either! I know ya do." The pale hollow scoffed.

'_Shut up.'_ Ichigo warned through their link.

'_Or else what?'_ Shiro grinned at the substitute.

'_I'll figure something out.'_ The berry head glared.

'_Face it, King. We share the same pain, and you have nothing to hold against me now that I'm in my own body.'_ The hollow pointed out, still grinning.

'_I said I'll figure something out.'_ Ichigo scowled, glaring at his other half.

Meanwhile the others watched them as they silently argued, noting the different expressions. With Shirosaki's grin, it was easy to tell that he was winning some sort of argument against Ichigo. Since the berry head didn't look too happy with the way he was scowling and glaring at his other half.

Renji in particular flicked his eyes back and forth between the two. Carefully noting the changes of expression, the sixth division lieutenant guessed that the hollow was arrogant, slightly over confident, and possibly smarter than he looks.

The redhead hardened his gaze, unsure what to make of this situation. He knew that Ichigo was a vizard, that much was well known. But the hollow, being able to turn into a shinigami seemed completely out of the ordinary. Then again, just by laying eyes on the pale Ichigo was out of the ordinary.

What really struck out (besides the fluffy looking cloud on top of Shiro's head) were the intense yellow eyes. They seemed to show the most emotion than the hollow's face. One minute they're a dull yellow ochre color, then sparkling in anger the next.

A low growl interrupted the lieutenant's thoughts that nearly made him jump. Renji leaned back a bit, still a bit surprised. It took him a moment to realize that the growl came from the hollow.

"What the hell is your problem?" the redhead frowned, brushing off the glare that would even make the Head Captain shudder that was sent his way.

"Stop starin' at us!" Shiro hissed lowly.

"It's hard not to, for you're the new baby of this little group." Urahara nearly giggled, grinning like a madman.

"Actually I've been around long before these people became friends." The hollow scoffed.

"True, but in general this is the first time you're physically with us." The shop keeper pointed out.

Shirosaki just rolled his eyes.

'_I don' feel like a baby.'_

"So exactly what are we supposed to do now?" Ichigo spoke up, deliberately changing the subject.

"Well, now that we're here, why don't we get to know of the new addition?" Urahara suggested, flashing a grin.

"You said you've been around longer than any of us knew each other. How long have you been within Ichigo?" Chad was the first to ask, his voice remained stoic and calm.

Shirosaki slouched his shoulders, taking a deep breath as if considering his answer.

"Six. I was there when 'e was six."

'_Earlier you said you didn't remember.'_ Ichigo frowned.

'_I didn't want 'em ta connect my birth with yer mother.'_ The hollow hissed back.

The substitute shinigami said no more.

Everyone stared at him, surprised as to how long the hollow had been around. Renji just blinked unbelievably at the pale Ichigo. How could it have been around so long and the berry head didn't even know?

Anger bubbled its way up through the lieutenant's chest. His eyes narrowed as he frowned deeply, crossing his arms.

"There's no way the hollow has been around for so long." Renji shook his head.

Shirosaki growled, flashing his canines as his eyes intensified into a rich golden honey.

"Quiet you. You know nothin' of us, so be a good boy an' hold yer tongue."

"Don't order me around." The redhead spat back.

"Isn't tha' what ya do? As a lieutenant, ya have ta follow orders righ'?" Shirosaki cocked his head to one side, as if to taunt Renji.

'_You're going to end up being punched in the face.'_ Ichigo warned.

'_He's th' one pryin' into our lives.'_ The hollow snapped.

'_Calm down.'_

'_Look who's talkin', King.'_

Renji's left eye twitched, clenching his hands into fists so hard his knuckles turned white. The redhead stood up as he leaned over the small table, pulling the hollow by the scruff of his shirt. Renji was readying to punch Shiro's grinning face.

"Renji!" Rukia tugged at her friend's sleeve as everyone stood up.

"You punch him and I'll punch you to hell!" Ichigo yelled as he grabbed the redhead's own shirt, aiming to punch him right on the cheek.

Before either berry head or the lieutenant were able to land any blows before the whole group separated them. Chad easily pulled both Shiro and Ichigo back with each arm, and kept his hold on them as they began to struggle a bit.

Inoue and Uryu tugged on either side of Renji, surprisingly throwing him backwards and landing on his rear end. Rukia used her shunpo skills to stand behind the redhead and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, effectively threatening him that if he struggled she'll strangle him.

"You bastard! I'm not a servant you know!" Renji shouted at the pale Ichigo.

"Really? I would have never guessed." Shirosaki giggled.

The redhead growled.

"Boys, boys! Let's all move on, shall we? Now, Shiro, Ichigo, exactly how did the two of you end up in separate bodies?" the shop keeper inclined his head.

After a few moments the lieutenant and the Ichigo twins calmed down. The pair reluctantly stopped struggling in order for Chad to let them go. The tall fighter unwrapped his arms from the thin frames, watching them carefully as they sat back down crossing their arms angrily. Renji sat back down at his spot, not daring to lift his gaze at anyone.

"Ya wanna know why I have my own body?" Shiro was the first to speak.

"Precisely."

The hollow casted a side glance at his other half. Ichigo rolled his eyes, already knew what Shirosaki was silently asking of him.

"We had a dream and met a Dream Witch. She told us that she granted wishes through dreams. She wouldn't tell us what we wished, but we had to give something in return. We don't know what she took, for she didn't say." The berry head summed up.

"Hm…a Dream Witch you say? I haven't heard of any for a number of years." The shop keeper frowned.

"Weren't they wiped out?" Rukia added.

"Yes, the Head Captain and the Seireitei agreed to slay them all for their devious actions. Apparently one still lives." Renji sighed in aggravation.

"Why were they wiped out?" Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows with confusion.

"A Dream Witch granted a taichou his deepest wish, to grow stronger and bring down the Soutaichou." Urahara began.

"Wait, someone threatened th' Soutaichou?" Shirosaki raised both eyebrows.

"Yes. This taichou was a well respected shinigami. It is said he devoted his life to Soul Society. And from what I've heard, he was formidable in battle."

"If he was formidable in battle, why would he wish to be stronger?" Ichigo frowned.

"There can be a lot of reasons why people wish to become stronger." Urahara flashed a grin.

The berry head scowled in confusion.

"Rem'mber all those times ya trained yerself ta save someone?" the hollow pointed out.

"So depending on the person there are good intentions of becoming stronger, and there are bad intentions? Ichigo said after a moment of pondering.

"Bingo! He didn't know about his true wishes, but deep down he knew that something was off. You can say he never felt truly…happy. But he had everything one captain will need. He came from one of the wealthy families like Kuchiki. He had everyone looking up to him, and just about everyone offering themselves to his service. He was practically royalty."

"Jus' one question b'fore ya continue." Shiro leaned forward. "How do ya know so much of t'is guy?"

"Let's just say I was only a small toddler when this was taken place." Urahara whispered in warning.

"How could you remember all of this at such a young age?" Renji raised an eyebrow.

"I dug up a little more research over the years. Now back to the main subject. This taichou grew frustrated as to why he wasn't happy. After he had a serious argument against Kuchiki Taichou's father, who was still alive and Head of the Kuchiki Clan at the time, he had went to bed and met a Dream Catcher. Without realizing it, he had traded his sense of judgment for higher power." The shop keeper pulled out his fan to gently fan himself.

The group stared at the pair of twins in utter astonishment with a bit of fear.

"I feel no different though…" Ichigo frowned.

"Oh believe me she took something." Urahara frowned.

"Wha' happened next?" Shirosaki rolled his eyes.

The shop keeper sighed. "The fool challenged the Soutaichou head on. Here's where the story gets really interesting. In the reports it was said that the old man defeated the taichou. But something was off, the old man suffered fatal injuries."

"How fatal are we talking about?" the Quincy asked.

"Enough he had to leave work for a week. And even longer to fully recover and return to his dojo and continue training his squad." Urahara elaborated.

"Sounds serious for the Soutaichou." Ichigo frowned.

"Yes. It was a mystery that I couldn't ignore. With the help of Kurotsuchi taichou I hacked into the archives and found the real information." The shop keeper grinned from ear to ear.

"What? What did you find?" Rukia and Inoue leaned forward in curiosity.

"Now, now, now, no rushing children. First off that shouldn't be the right question." Urahara giggled.

"Well let's see, ya haven't told us 'is name, an' ya haven't told us wha' happened with 'is battle agains' th' Soutaichou." The hollow glared. "Get on wit' it!"

"Ruin the fun, why don't you?" the shop keeper frowned.

"I hate to agree with him, but just get on with it." Renji rolled his eyes.

"All right, all right. Sheesh, youngsters these days. The taichou's name was Hiroshi Akiwara."

Rukia's eyes widened in surprise. "He was from the Akiwara Clan?"

"Correct. And because of the now dead Akiwara taichou's actions, the Akiwara Clan was removed of their status. The whole family suffered even after his death." Urahara added.

"How did he die?"

"Let's say he was about to unleash the last blow on the Soutaichou when the Dream Catcher appeared out of nowhere and tore out his heart. Apparently she had warned that if he went too far with his wish, she will come and tear out his heart and seal it away."

Shirosaki frowned as he twiddled his thumbs in thought.

'_What are you thinking about?' _Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

'_Our Dream Witch didn't warn us of anythin'. She didn't even tell us wha' she took from us.'_ The hollow nibbled his lip.

The berry head didn't respond. But now that he thought about it, everything about their deal with the Dream Witch was off. They don't even know her name.

"And in hopes that there won't be another repeat, Soutaichou ordered the slaying of Dream Catchers. The last reported death of one was twenty or so years ago, believed to be the last of them." Urahara lowered his gaze, his hat overshadowing his eyes once again.

"Somehow one still lives. What worries me is that she may set up some sort of revenge against the Seireitei."

"Why us?" Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows.

"You're a substitute shinigami, you tell me. You have full freedom in Karakura Town so long as you don't get into anyone's way and you keep your vizard powers at bay." Urahara stared a hard stare at the berry head.

"Bu' why give me freedom?" Shirosaki raised his gaze from his twiddling thumbs to the shop keeper.

"She probably hoped for you to lose control and attack Soul Society." Uryu's eyes held a dark threat directed at the hollow.

"He's been surprisingly calmer compared to when we shared a body." Ichigo informed with a glare of his own.

"But this is only one day." Renji challenged.

"Oi, as long as ya don' get in my way I won' do anythin'." The hollow growled.

"Get in your way of what?"

"Isn' it obvious? Don' ge' in th' way of my freedom." Shirosaki snorted.

Everyone lowered their gaze once again, taking in the hollow's words. They all know too well that the pale Ichigo twin can attack them at anytime. Yet here he was, sitting next to Ichigo as calm as a hollow can be. About the one time they've seen him act vicious in his own body was when they all jumped to conclusions and attacked him.

"So, with everything aside, did you happen to catch the Dream Witch's name?"

"She never told us." Ichigo shook his head.

"What does she look like?"

"Black hair, red eyes, big ches', has a dragon theme goin' on." Shirosaki shrugged.

"Dragon theme you say?" Urahara inquired.

"Yea, everything in her room has some sort of dragon style on it." The berry head confirmed with a nod.

"Hmm…I'll be keeping that in mind when I do a little research." The shop keeper said before flashing a grin at the hollow.

Shirosaki immediately tensed as his eyes narrowed at Urahara suspiciously.

"Oh calm down! I was going to say that we should get started on our little match."

"Jus' you an' me?" the hollow raised an eyebrow.

"Yep yep!" Urahara stood up, grinning.

"Will th' others watch?"

"The more the merrier!"

Shirosaki grinned a feral grin, showing off his canines that his new human body refused to give up. Everyone but the shop keeper shivered from the animalistic side of Shirosaki.

"Bring it on, Hat 'n Clogs."

* * *

Within less than ten minutes everyone had moved below the shop for Urahara's secret training grounds. In five minutes Shirosaki and Urahara were dancing around in circles of each other. Everyone watched in awe of the hollow's speed and tricks that Ichigo never thought of before.

What really caught their attention was how the two hadn't landed a blow on the other. Shirosaki often dodged by swift movements or block using his sword. Urahara often used Benihime's shield abilities to block the harsh attacks thrown at him.

"You're a fast one." The shop keeper giggled with a large grin.

"What do ya expect? After all 'm jus' getting' warmed up!" Shirosaki grinned menacingly, eyes shining brightly as he threw Zangetsu to the older blond.

Not having time to dodge, Urahara held Benihime up for a make shift red shield. He blinked and tilted his head in slight confusion when the hollow disappeared, letting go of the black cloth that seemed to stretch like a rubber band at will.

Before Zangetsu reached the ground Shiro appeared in a flash, attacking the shop keeper from the side. Eyes widened in surprise and fear as the broad blade aimed at Urahara's liver. The shop keeper quickly dodged out of reflex, trying to block the oncoming attack with his zanpakutou.

Shirosaki leapt back as the block turned into retaliation when Urahara parried forward. But the hollow still held his menacing grin, as if he was celebrating in victory. The shop keeper glanced down to see that Zangetsu had ripped the outer layer of his clothing.

"You're a sneaky, sneaky bastard." Urahara frowned, lowering his head, the hat overshadowing half his face yet his eyes were still seen, glaring at the hollow.

Shirosaki only giggled. "Oh c'mon, Hat 'n Clogs! Don' tell me 'hat ya aren't havin' fun? Why, I haven' had 'his much fun since I fough' Kuchiki taichou! The look on his face was priceless!"

Rukia's eyes widened, unsure if the hollow was exaggerating or not.

"You fought Nii—sama?"

"No' fer too long, Ichigo decided no' ta accep' anymore help from me." the hollow casted a side glare at the berry head.

"I still beat him without your help!"

'_Not to mention you would have killed him, you coldhearted bastard.'_

'_Aw, King is much too soft.'_ Shiro joked.

"This battle took place after Ichigo learned bankai I would assume? So tell me, Shiro, are you able to use bankai?" Urahara tilted his head in curiosity.

The hollow's grin broadened if possible. "Why, yes 'm able ta use Tensa Zangetsu."

"Then prove it."

"Uh, Urahara I don't think that's—"

"Oh, hush Ichigo—chan~, I'll be just fine!" the shop keeper sang in a sing a song voice.

"_**Bankai!**_"

Everyone but stared at the hollow with shocked and fearful expressions. The ground seemed to shake underneath their feet like an earthquake, an effect that rivaled even Kenpachi's reiatsu. Renji was about ready to flee as the atmosphere thickened from the sudden unleashed reiatsu. Rukia gripped her shirt over her chest, her petite body shaking under the fierce pressure.

Inoue fell to her knees in fright, holding a tight grip on Uryu's sleeve. The Quincy wanted to help calm the blond but he had to hold onto Chad for support if he didn't want to fall on top of Inoue.

Meanwhile Chad planted his feet firmly on the ground, his body mildly shaking from the intense spiritual pressure. His stance briefly reminded Ichigo of a huge tree that can withhold any storms that was thrown at it. Ichigo's knees buckled a little, but otherwise remained stable on his feet.

When the dust dissipated, Urahara studied the hollow with calculating eyes. Shirosaki once again had the same form as Ichigo. The sleeves thinned along the arms, no longer fluttering in air. If it wasn't for the black under layer of shihakusho creating an inch of black line under the white layer, Urahara would have mistaken the hollow half nude.

The same 'v' shape over the chest was the same. And slightly over the hollow's slim abdomen and the rest of the upper half of the uniform flayed out into the air was the same as Ichigo's bankai form.

Next Urahara shifted his gaze at the zanpakutou. He found himself frowning as he stared at a perfect replica of Tensa Zangetsu, instead of inky black the blade was pure white.

But something felt wrong. Urahara raised his head a little more for a better view of the hollow's face. Shirosaki seemed to be in pain, his hands shook a little, his left eye twitched.

'_K—King…'_

Urahara glanced at Ichigo, but the substitute wasn't reacting the same as the hollow.

'_What's wrong?'_

'_Y—Ya can' feel it? Why can' ya feel it? It hurts!'_ Shiro practically shouted in their link.

Ichigo flinched from the stab of pain in his head from the other's scream. The berry head took a step to help Shirosaki when he dropped his sword to clutch his stomach. Urahara raised a hand in motion for Ichigo to stop.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"I don't care you bastard!" Ichigo yelled and ran to his hollow's side, who had fallen to his knees.

"Ichigo!" Rukia shouted before cautiously following the substitute.

"Kurosaki—kun!" Inoue weakly stood up, but stood where she was and leaned against Uryu for support. The hollow's reiatsu was still unleashing in high pressure, overwhelming them.

Shirosaki growled, baring his fangs. His eyes glazed in anger, the yellow intensified into a deep golden color that from far away could have been mistaken as red.

Ichigo felt the pain now, it was in his stomach. The berry head peered over the hollow's shoulder to see the other's stomach. But with pale hands in the way, Ichigo scowled and leaned to the other side to see a red circle through the slim back.

"What the hell is this! Urahara! Get your ass over here pronto!" Ichigo shouted, not caring what came out of his mouth at the moment. The pain was intensifying and he clutched his own stomach and gripped Shirosaki's shoulder to hold himself up.

'_Yer no' helpin' King!'_

'_Can't you see I can feel it too? Now stop complaining and concentrate on not biting my hand off!'_

A second later Ichigo screamed, leaning his forehead on the hand gripping Shirosaki's shoulder, his vision blackened.

_Inner World_

Ichigo groaned as he opened his eyes with difficulty. The pain was still with him, and he raised both arms to clutch his shihakusho around his middle. The berry head opened his eyes a little more to recognize he was in his inner world.

Glancing up, Ichigo nearly jumped when he saw Zangetsu standing over him.

"Damn it, give me a heart attack why don't you!" the substitute scowled, the pain made him much more irritable than usual.

"The deal you two made with the Dream Witch. She took something from the both of you." The old man stated, not bothered of the teen's foul mood.

"What did she take?" Ichigo gasped out, clenching his jaws tightly.

"From you, she took a small price. But from Shirosaki…"

"What, what did she take?"

Zangetsu knelt down. "She's trying to take away the last of his humanity."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "Is she trying to turn him into an Arrancar?"

"It's a worrying price. He will lose control of himself and attack anything that moves." The elder explained, as if Shirosaki taking down everything that lives wasn't a danger at all.

"You're not worried? Tell me there's a way to stop this! And what did she take from me?" Ichigo screamed out, his grip on the uniform.

"So long as he doesn't use his bankai, the transformation of hollow into Arrancar would slow down. But there is only one way for the transformation to stop completely."

Ichigo watched as the elder man straightened up to his full height.

"Only the feeling of loving someone and being loved back will stop him from becoming an Arrancar."

The berry head stared at Zangetsu as if he grew another head.

"That's impossible!"

"You've faced worse cases than him. Now go back and switch your blades with his."

Before Ichigo could demand what the old man meant he blacked out, leaving the inner world.

_Real World_

Ichigo jerked his head and opened his eyes to see a pained Shirosaki doubling over in pain. Quickly the substitute pulled his zanpakutou from its sleep over his back.

"Ichigo, what are you doing?" Rukia questioned, now moved behind the hollow to examine the red circle, Urahara standing behind her.

"Following Zangetsu's orders." Ichigo said as he forcefully pulled Shiro's hand away from his stomach to hold the real Zangetsu.

"Wh—wha'?" the hollow managed to crack his eyes open a bit.

'_Just trust me.'_ Ichigo told Shiro through their link.

The hollow nodded, tightening his grip on Zangetsu's handle. The berry head bit his lip, hoping that the old man was right, and grabbed the reversed Tensa Zangetsu by its handle.

Within seconds the swords seemed to have switched. Black seeped over the white blade, while the colors reversed on Ichigo's blade. The moment the blades had switched, Shirosaki released a sigh of relief.

'_K—King, wha' happened?'_

"She was trying to take away the last of your humanity." Ichigo whispered for only Shiro and possibly Rukia and Urahara to hear as he stood up, running a hand through his orange mop.

"I assume that's the price she took from Shiro?" the shop keeper tilted his head.

The berry head nodded.

"What did she take from you?"

"Zangetsu wouldn't say." Ichigo shrugged. "But he said my price wasn't as big compared to Shiro."

'_King…she's tryin' ta change me into an Arrancar isn' she?'_ the hollow frowned.

'_Yes.'_

'_Can it be stopped?'_

'_Only by love…'_ Ichigo bit his lip.

* * *

Death: Haha! I said you guys have a treat of possibly the longest chap I have ever written, but that didn't mean you get to see Shirosaki's response!

1) Hiroshi Akiwara: Not a major character in this story, but he and along with the shinigami that had a hollow that manifests itself outside of their body play key roles to what's going to happen to the plot. Hiroshi literally means "tolerant, generous". Akwara roughly means "autumn field".

2) So we learn Shirosaki's price! It was sort of a last minute thing, it was really all I can come up with. I know hollows aren't human, but Shirosaki is _special_. Kibo-sama has yet to fully explain why, so what I think is that Shirosaki isn't fully hollow yet. He's mostly hollow, with a small, reserved humanity still left within him. Question is, will he lose it to the Dream Witch? Muwahahaha!

3) Um, the switching of the Zangetsus. With Shirosaki in pain, he couldn't really do anything to change reversed Tensa Zangetsu back into its original form. So I thought up with the best solution. Ichigo trades their zanpakutou, and the blades immediately transform into the other and therefore solves the problem since Ichigo's sword wasn't in bankai form. Get the picture?

If you don't please ask your question and I will answer with the best of my ability! So if you would kindly make this authoress happy to continue, please click the review button.


End file.
